January 05, 2009

The 2009 Cadbury Marathon titles will head interstate, along with excess baggage ofchocolate.Sydney’s David Criniti and Canberra’s Liz Bennett were the title winners over the42.195kms.Criniti’s time of 2 hours 29 minutes 55 seconds was the fastest since 2000 and a great startto the year for the ultra running dynamo. His form had been strong, with a second placing atthe Canberra Marathon and fifth at the Melbourne Marathon in 2008.The Parramatta athlete was the one to beat heading into the race and was kept company byDarren Moyle of Sydney early on, before opening up an ever increasing lead on his way tovictory.“It was a fantastic way to kick off 2009 and it’s exciting to be in that good of form andhopefully in 2010 I can beat the legendary Colin Oliver’s course record a shake,” he said.That record of 2:23.59 set in 1995, plus the course record bonus are clearly in sight forCriniti now.Locals were struggling to remember a day that brought good weather in recent times, but thesunny 22 degree day was just what the marathon gods asked for. “It was perfect out there,especially with the 6am start, it was nice and cool which was ideal for the marathon. It wasgreat to have the half guys out there which made for some great atmosphere on the courseand running along the coastline was quite scenic.”The last time Liz Bennett ran Cadbury was in 2007, when she was second to the incredibleHanny Allston, prior to that, she was a winner in 2004. Her time of 3:16.14 this year wasfaster than her winning effort of five years ago and will provide the confidence she needs asher next challenge will be ultra marathon runs in 2009.The race for the minor placing’s in the men’s marathon turned into the battle for theTasmanian Championship, between defending champion Jarrod Shaw and former AthleticsTasmania staffer Daniel Smee.The pair are regular training partners and only 4 seconds separated them at the finish, withSmee gaining the upper hand at the top of the hill coming into the Cadbury Estate, to bolt tothe finish and claim second overall.In 1984, Robyn Wallace won the Cadbury Marathon and she returned to Cadbury 25 yearslater, to take second place, some 16 minutes faster than she did back in the 80’s. Wallacehad been living in Queensland recently, having only just moved back to her former state,where she is now the state champion. Jess Baker of New South Wales was third only 7seconds behind Wallace.352 brave souls lined up in the Cadbury Half Marathon, which was a record field in the 26year history of the event. The men’s race saw a large pack of runners together for the first8kms of the race, as they made their way around Cadbury Estate and up 10 Mile Hill inAustins Ferry.At the halfway mark, Launceston’s David Thomas poured on the pressure to put a gap onthe rest of the field and was clearly in front as he reached the 14.5 kilometre turn at theDerwent Entertainment Centre. It was all smooth sailing from there, as he powered home towin in 1 hour 10min 59 seconds ahead of local athletes Jason Allie and Damon Court.The women’s half marathon was dominated by defending champion Angela Grimmond ofHobart. In 2008, the Tasmanian Distance Runner of the Year series leader made her debutat the distance, to take out her first major fun run. Yesterday’s time of 1 hour 23 minutes 11seconds was some 8min faster than her effort 12 months ago, and added to her impressivestring of victories in recent times. Christie Harris from Hobart was second, ahead of JuliaDavies who took third.Both the Cadbury Marathon and Cadbury Half Marathon were point scoring events in theTasmanian Distance Runner of the Year series, which will conclude in March with theTasmanian 5,000m track championships. A full point score will be released later in theweek.Keeping in the fun spirit of the event, organisers put on the Freddo 5km and Caramello1.25km events for those not quite up to running as far.Pat Smith and Kylie Risk won themselves some nice prizes from Brooks and Cadbury intaking out the Freddo 5km. Four laps of the Cadbury Estate was a great way to seeTasmania’s second most visited tourist attraction, with participants handed a Cadburychocolate at the finish, by Freddo Frog himself.The Caramello 1.25km was a one lap race of the Cadbury Estate for little kids who were highfived by Caramello Koala at the finish. All money raised for that event were donated to theClown Doctors charity.For more information, visit www.cadburymarathon.com.au or contact Richard Welsh on 0409820 248.End

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About Me

I am married with two daughters.
The younger lives in Townsville, Qld, and the older lives in Portland, Oregon, USA.
We are both retired from The Public Service, and since retirement have travelled to Uluru, Brisbane, Kingaroy, America, and South Korea.
Other trips are being planned.
Grandchildren are Ari, and Leila Belle.